Ex-state Liberal leader fined for coke supply
A former state Liberal leader who supplied cocaine to friends and used the drug as a “form of escapism” has been fined and must do community service.
Former state opposition leader David Speirs has been fined $9000 and handed 37.5 hours of community service after being convicted for supplying cocaine to two people.
Speirs was the leader of the South Australian Liberal Party when he used cocaine as a “means of escapism” and introduced it to his friends around August 2024.
The 40-year-old was sentenced in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday after pleading guilty in March to two counts of drug supply.
Scottish-born Speirs also lost his bid against having a conviction recorded which could affect his ability to travel internationally and restrict employment opportunities.
Magistrate Brian Nitschke said Speirs should “well have appreciated the criminality and public mischief” of his conduct when he supplied the drug to two men on two separate occasions in August.
Speirs, 40, sat still in the Adelaide Magistrates Court dock with his hands clasped between his knees throughout the 36-minute sentencing.
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Nitschke took into account Speirs’ unlikeliness to reoffend, remorse and the additional punishment of losing his job and future employment prospects.
Speirs’ lawyer had previously told the court he used and supplied friends with cocaine as part of his “escapism” to deal with stress as opposition leader.
But the magistrate highlighted “the need for public denunciation of this type of offending, and the need for general deterrence”.
“I accept that these offences were committed by you at a time when you were suffering stress,” he said.
“It is certainly no excuse. You have the intelligence and the wherewithal to obtain help without resorting to escapism, to the escapism (of) drugs.”
His sentencing took into account the need to protect the safety of the community and for Speirs to be punished and held accountable.
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“You have suffered public vilification, humiliation and personal, social and family stress. I accept that there has been a high level of scrutiny and media coverage of your arrest, in charging and the progress of the charges through the court,” Nitschke said.
“You’ve had to endure the glare of public attention as a result of these charges, then there’s been public interest … concerning this case and your offending (which) is hardly surprising.
“This is no doubt due to the prominent position you’ve held at the time of the offending and indeed, the community’s expectation of persons who hold such a prominent position.”
Nitschke said Speirs’ offending, which carries a maximum sentence of a $50,000 fine and 10 years’ jail, was on the “lower end” of criminality.
Speirs declined to comment as he left court.
Speirs has been embroiled in controversy since he quit the leadership on August 8, declaring he had “just had a gutful” of leadership speculation and did not have the energy to keep fighting.
He resigned from parliament in October after his arrest.
Current Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said today that now that the judicial process has been completed, “it highlights that nobody is above the law”.
“South Australians expect their MPs to do the right thing,” Tarzia said.
“Those elected to public office should be setting an example and they must therefore remain focused always on serving their community with integrity.
“That is the firm expectation that the Liberal Party has of our candidates and the parliamentary team under my leadership”.
